It's not often that I actually post; I generally just lurk around the forums, and watch people argue like children. Often, I'm too busy laughing at a certain few people to actually put something.
First off, on topic with the thread, I have to say, Ash has really grown on me over the years -- especially with the Battle Frontier saga in the US. Why then? Because if they're going to use the same focus-character for ten years straight, please at least change something about him. At least in the US his voice is different, which is pretty much the only thing that's changed about him his entire lifetime, besides his clothes. I mean, the boy has been a prepubecent twelve-year old for a decade now, and he's still basically retarded (when he's not in battle).
And on a smaller side note, referring to something else in the thread earlier, levels do exist in the anime, and there have been several references to them. However, this is mainly in the first three or four seasons that they had little mentionings in both Jap and US versions. I imagine they're just not referenced anymore to add a bit to the "realism" of the anime.